Developing social skills and good quality of interaction with the world is crucial for a child’s success in life and every relationship they build.

The most important social skills include: talking effectively, interacting with others, starting a conversation, listening, being responsible for their behavior, making friends, empathizing, helping others, giving compliments, dealing with uncomfortable situations like teasing, bullying, or unpopularity.

Some kids are naturally more sociable than others. Nevertheless, socializing is an art one has to master every single day when growing up.

How to help children improve their social skills:

Encourage eye contact: Encourage your child to look into someone’s eyes when talking to them for more effective communication and to build self-confidence. This skill needs to be practiced several times before it becomes a spontaneous action. Games like “staring contest” may be beneficial. Your child may practice this game with their toys at first, then with you while you ask them to tell you stories while looking into your eyes. 

Teach them about emotions: Let your children imitate a variety of emotions: joy, anger, disappointment, excitement, weirdness, nervousness, tiredness, terror... Play games like: “identify the emotion,” make emoticons using your facial expressions, or using emojis. This will help them differentiate emotions and express themselves better. It has always been known that children imitate your actions more than they listen to your words. So, to teach them emotions, you must communicate how you feel in a specific situation.

Always communicate: Verbally or nonverbally, your children should learn to express, interact, and respond to social stimuli. Kids need help and guidance to overcome shyness, manage a response and express true feelings. Teach them appropriate greetings and responses, let them know that they are free to talk, ask, and communicate their needs, desires, beliefs, and ideas. Talk to them all the time. Teach your child how to start a conversation. Young children are often unsure of how to converse and may be prone to interrupting conversations or ignoring what’s been said. Teach them to start a conversation using “hi” and “how are you,” If they do not want to tell him, they can use non-verbal cues like waving, smiling, nodding, and handshaking. Explain to your children the importance of taking turns while speaking in a conversation and the importance of listening. Remember, this needs lots of practice at home before you can see these behaviors conducted with others.

Explain personal space: Young children may fail to understand that everyone needs their personal space, which should be respected. Explain to children that personal space varies from one person to another.  People who are related may be more open to hugging and touching than strangers. It is crucial to let your children understand they’re entitled to their personal space. Avoid picking them up if they don’t want, or hugging them if they do not like to be hugged. Teach them they have authority over their own bodies. Children must do the same in return. Have them ask for permission before hugging people, sitting in someone’s lap, and so on.

Teach them empathy: A young child’s perspective is limited. Children may find it hard to put themselves in another person’s shoes. Yet make an effort to help them understand empathy. Encourage your children to use their imagination. Have them picture themselves in different scenarios. For example, when watching TV, ask your children how they think a character is feeling and why. Encourage them to picture themselves in a similar scenario and think about how they feel.

Teach them basic manners: Children often do not know basic manners, so these are important to teach. Explain that it’s very important to say please, thank you, and excuse me. Make it a house rule. This will help children practice positive manners.

Ensure a safe environment:  A lonely child may have difficulty interacting with others. With the right company and good exposure, your child will have greater chances of connecting with other people around them. Activities like playschool, hobby classes, playgrounds, sports activities are an excellent way for your child to socialize and develop a range of interpersonal skills that become the foundation of their personality.

Social skills prepare children for a lifetime of healthy relationships in all aspects of their lives. Utilizing the skills mentioned above and helping your children attain them will help them positively influence their society and build a fierce foundation of their personality, which plays a significant role in their life choices and decisions, shaping their entire future.